Thailand

Duration: 5 Nights & 6 Days

Season: Start of peek season. Travelled in 1st week of November.

Short Itinerary:

• Day 1 : Bangalore - Bangkok

• Day 2 : Bangkok

• Day 3 : Bangkok

• Day 4 : Bangkok - Krabi

• Day 5 : Krabi

• Day 6 : Krabi - Bangalore

Trip Itinerary

Day 1:

After a light veg breakfast at the airport (Only mango sticky rice/veg puff/pastry are the veg options), we took an airport taxi to the hotel after trying for GRAB as we were unsure if 6 people would be accommodated in a cab from the GRAB app.

After reaching the hotel we went to the 7/11 store and bought a veg packed lunch/sandwich (they will microwave and give it hot even though it's a convenient store) and we left for the Sea life Aquarium only by 1pm.

Sea Life Aquarium (1.30pm to 3pm) → short walk → Madam Tussauds (3-4pm) → Sunset river cruise with Indian buffet dinner (Totally worth to have having cruise with Indian food for parents) → Reach hotel by cab from GRAB app (like Uber) and relax at hotel

Ticket Cost: All the tickets for sealife+madam tussads +river cruise were bought previously in the Klook app. Totally useful to buy in prior and the website is reliable. Cost we paid was around 1.5k+1.5k+3k = Total INR 6000 excluding cab

In Grab App (like Uber) we always book 6people cab hence it was a bit costly for us as we were 5 people and wanted comfort for our parents. You can opt for public transport as well.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 2 :

Early morning after having MTR Poha from India for breakfast at the hotel we left for Safari World at 9 am. Safari world is far and takes about 1hour due to traffic. Take highways as much as possible to avoid traffic.

We reached Safari world around 10.30am. We had booked a Safari Bus Coach hence took the bus inside Safari else you can drive your own taxi/car. Few animals looked thin and dehydrated in the captive but the maintenance and the facility was good. In the afternoon after a quick burger in a tuck shop within the safari world, we attended the Sea Lion and Dolphin Show. These are truly exceptional and are the main attraction of Safari world.

By 3.30pm we left for Wat Arun in a cab. Cab via GRAB is truly reliable and the wait time is around 10 mins. We reached Wat Arun by 4.30pm and the temple is beautiful and takes around half an hour to see. Then crossed the river using a boat shuttle during the evening and visited Wat Phra (Reclining Buddha).

After this around 6pm we took a cab back to the hotel and asked our parents to relax and ordered fried rice from the hotel. After 8pm we had light food and wanted to explore the night market at Phathanum. We somehow made it but it started raining so we could not shop much and came back.

Ticket Cost: 2700 Rs + 200 baht (~600 rs for Wat Arun) and (500 baht for Wat Phra) per person

We could not see the Grand Palace due to the Queen’s demise but it's definitely a must visit place. We had booked through Klook hence got a refund for this.

Day 3:

We had a flight for Krabi at 5 pm in the evening but we still wanted to explore Bangkok so we went to the Mahanakhon Skywalk. The experience of walking on see through glass which is 75 floors above ground was surreal. At the start it was scary and it was overall a thrilling experience. All the cars and vehicles below look like miniature toys and we enjoyed the 360 degree view of Bangkok city at the cafe lounge on the rooftop with a nice green macha latte.

After this we visited the SKY Verse in Mahanokhon 4th floor and the experience was filmy. The laser touch and feel rooms are creative and can be literally enjoyed by all age groups.

All in all this place was an amazing experience to show to our parents.

After this we went to a small modern cafe that serves Thai food called Sook Sahoran at a walkable distance from the Mahanakhon and enjoyed Tom yum soup and a few other Thai dishes for lunch.

After this, we packed our bags from the hotel to the 2nd international airport in Bangkok to catch a flight to Krabi.

The Krabi flight was delayed and we reached by 8pm and got an airport taxi to our hotel and relaxed for the night.

Ticket Cost : 2000Rs for Skywalk+Skyverse per person bought from Klook

Day 4:

Krabi is a unique and amazing small beach town. We got Indian food everywhere from awesome Masala Dosa to North Indian Roti curry to even Biryani with hotel owners talking in Hindi :)

The night market is vibrant and full of life with twinkly lights and music and fire shows. The whole town comes alive in the night into literally a buzzing hub of bars, restaurants.

Mornings are slow and relaxed in this city. We woke up late and we enjoyed Masala Dosa for breakfast. It was Kanoj’s Birthday so this day was extra special. In the afternoon we went on a four island boat tour. The private boat and picnic at the awesome blue beach made the birthday extra special with all my loved ones around me. It was truly magical and the tour guide took awesome pictures of my family and showed all the beach and arranged a cake for us.

By evening we watched the sunset and returned to the happening town for Indian dinner to end our day.

Ticket Cost : Private Boat cost us 20000 Rs for us as I had pre booked through a friend’s contact. This was costly compared to others but it was totally worth it for us. There are other cheaper options for sharing boats and pre-fixed prices from the city authorities which can be explored.

Day 5:

This was a leisure day for us with no pre plan from our end. We woke up and went for masala dosa again!

With no pre plan in mind, we wanted to avoid a full day boat journey for our parents so we did not choose Phi Phi island tour. Instead we wanted our parents to experience the swimming pool. To convince and get our parents to experience all the good things was what made this trip special for us.

After the pool experience, we went to Klong Muang Beach at the other end of Krabi town. It was still sunny so we had lunch at Naga Terrace. They served the food with total class and the place was really nice with our tables arranged just beside the beach. After eating, we relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the water till sunset and returned to the city.

At 7.30pm everyday the fire show happens on the beach at Ao Nang beach. We were lucky to catch it after returning from the beach. Literally Krabi is a totally party place at night!

Indian dinner at Govinda restaurant along with shopping at Ao Nang market to end our awesome family trip.

Ticket Cost : The taxi to Klong Muang Beach costed 800 baht

Recommendations:

• Indian food is available everywhere with vegan/jain options also available.

Final Say:

Thailand is a good place to go with parents because of the easy Visa on Arrival for Indians and lower cost compared to Dubai/Singapore. The experiences are unique and worth the visit. The nature, beaches, temple and modern buildings keep the trip entertained for all people.

Approximate Cost of the Entire Trip except Flight tickets: 350000 Lakhs for 5 people

The flight cost around 25000Rs per person as all the bookings were last minute for us.

Food to taste: Tom Yum Soup and Mango Sticky Rice

Food for Thought/Learnings:

1. A small country which is less in size compared to any large state in India is having infrastructure and experiences to attract people from all over the world and having its major economy from Tourism. It really questions me why in India, where we have the richest heritage, we are unable to get the infrastructure for transport and Mahanakhon skywalk based experience till now! The tourism experience in India should really scale up to the global standards is what I truly believe.

2. Taking my mom and my parents in law on their first international trip was on our bucket list and we are truly happy and grateful that the year 2025 made this possible. Teaching our parents small things like immigration, eating etiquettes, different nation’s cultures to parents who literally made us what we are today is an experience in itself. We are truly happy and blessed that we got to do this 🙂

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